Placer-mining apparatus.



. V. V. CLARK.

PLACER MINING APPABTUS. APPLIUATION rum; JAN. 10, 1911.

1,011,321. Patented Dec.12,1911.

e I 111 111 II WITNESSES: Q nwsuron:

N6 By I M X Arrow/Er To whom it may concern:

cation.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

V. CLARK, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOIt T0 NORTHERN ENGINEERING 00.,0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, A. CORPORATION OF WASHINGTON.

PLACER-MINING arrazwrus.

Be it known that I, VIVIAN V. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of \Yashington,have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Placer-Mining AE-paratus, of which the following is a speci This invention relates toplacer mining machinery whereby the auriferous .earthy material,like'gravel, clay and sand, all of which may contain stones ofvarioasshapes and sizes, can be operated upon with water to extract andsave the gold or-other valuable metal which such material may contain.

The objects of my invention are First, to provide effective means forprofitably} operating on placer-mining grounds known to. containdeposits of native gold but which. grounds remain unworked because theyare located where the supply of water is insuifi: cient for extractingand saving the gold by methods and means heretofore employed for largeoperations on placer mining grounds.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sec-' tion. Fig. 2 isa verticalcross section thereof. Fig. 3 is 'a fragmentary view shown partly inside elevation and partly in vertical section.

Referring to the drawings, 5 is atrough or sluice box of iron or wood,the top edge of each side of which is adapted to afford continuoustrack-ways 7 and whereon are mounted pairs of wheels 8, 8', 8 etc. Tothe axle 9 of each pair of wheels is hingedly connected a flight 10 orpusher from the free or lower edge of which protrudes a detachable blade11'. Extending upwardly from each of these flights toa distance abovethe supporting axle- 9 thereof are pairs of ears 6 located near each endof the flight as 'most clearly shown in Fig. 2. These ears are pivotallyconnected to pins which are em loyed for coupling the adjoimng ends ofinks 12, 12, etc., of two bar-link chains,

. so to speak, which are located adjacent to I system of the sides, ofthe trough and supported in roximity to the juncture of the variouslinks by the aforesaid wheels 8, 8, etc. This chains and flights'is thusadapted -for. endwise' travel on wheels which track 1 upon the sides ofthe trough.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the members of Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

one pair of link-bars 12 are connected by a transverse pm 16 which, 1nturn, 1s connected with the crank pin 13 of a driving I wheel 14 throughthe agency of a connecting rod 15. \Vhen the wheel 14 is rotated'thesystem of flights will be caused to make an excursion forward and backin the trough with each cycle of the wheels rotation. This wheel may bedriven by means of a power driven belt 17 or otherwise.

18 represents lugs respectively extending forwardly and rearwardly fromthe various flights and are disposed to encounter the chains thereaboveto limit the swinging movements of the flights. That is to say, therearwardly directed lugs 18 encounter the chains to arrest the rearwardswing of the flights prior to the latters forward travel ands'imilarlythe forwardly directed lugs limitthe' forward swing thereof for the.fiEbSQquent .rcarward travel, as will be understood from an inspectionof Figs. 1 and 2. In the drawings 1 have illustrated a trough us havingits rear end substantially horizontal and connected by a curved portionwith the front or outlct end which is inclined upwardly. In the bottomof the trough are provided ritilcs 19. of a form known to miners aspoles-idles, in the manner usually employed with sluiceboxes, but anyother forms of rifllcs may be substituted, if desired.

20 represents sill'supports for supporting the afore-dcscribcdstructure. Both ends of the trough are open whereby water or earthymatter may freely enter or leave the trough.

21 represents the discharge end of a hopper which may serve to conductearthy matter into the trough. Su'ch devices are varied according to thecharacter 'of material worked and the conditions of each location.

22 represents gutter like receptacles secured to the under side of thetrough for collecting the concentrates which settle on the bottom of thetrough and find access to the receptacles through discharge openingsprovided inthe trough bottom.

The operation of my invention is ,as follows: At a selected location,the trough is set on a firm foundation in a hollow or de preSSlOn ofthe" ground which is or can be 'supplied with water to a heightapproxilinks will, through the me the trough substantially submerged andthe other end protruding for a distance above the water level. When thewheel 14 is rotated at an appropriate speed, motion is transmittedtherefrom by the connecting rod 15 to the bar-chains and. thence thesystem of flights is caused to be alternately moved'to'ward the frontand rear ends of the trough While the supporting wheels 8, 8', 8 etc.,track on the side walls of, the trough. During such travel of theflightsa charge or succession of charges of the material to be treated isdeposited in the trough adjacent to its rear end. The material thussupplied is conveyed by the rearmost flight in its forward travel into aposition to be conveyed by the next flight in the succeeding forwardtravel of the flights, then to the third flight and so on until thematerial, excepting the heavier portions thereof which are retainedwithin the interstices of the riflie, i's finally discharged from thefront, .end of the trough. During the forward movements of the flights,the power transmitted from the connectin' rod 15 to the um of the ears6, cause the flights 10 to be swung downwardly until arrested by therearwardl extended lugs 18 encountering the links th above, whereupon.the various flights will occupy the relative positions in which they arerepresented in Fig. l. and by broken .lines a in Fig. 3. When the returnmcvements of the flights occur, the links will then act to swing theflights into positions corresponding to that in which they arerepresented by full lines in Fi 3, and whereat they are arrested by theorwardly extended lugs 18 being brought against the links above.

It is to benoted that the motion of the ereconnecting rod isfirst-utilized to swing the flights until the arms 18 or,18' areemployed, and the continued motion of the connecting rod will serve topush or pull the entire system of flights toward the front or rear ofthe trough.

It is also to be noted that b reason of the flexible or link-connectionsetween the adjacent flights and by having the carrying wheels of thelatter operate u on a sup orting track only, that a boul er, or a argebody of the material, which might become wedged under a flight, willefl'ect the uplifting of the particular flight to allow the same to passover the obstacle and thereby not derange or break the a paratus.

It is obvious that suitab e means for removing the matter constitutingthe tailings as it is ejected from the forward end 0 the trough, willreadily suggest themselves; as, for instance, the crap form of stacker,such as is used in connecoyment of some tion with gold-'dredgers, orother mechanical conveyer.

Now having described the construction and operation of my invention,what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

A concentrating sluice having lon itudinally disposed spaced riflles, alongitu inally reciprocable conveyor having transverse flights prongedon their lower portions, each prong overlying a longitudinal riflle andreciprocable longitudinally thereover, each flight being pivotallyyieldable to obstacles during movement of the conveyer in one direction.

VIV IAN V. CLARK. Witnesses:

CHAS. D. HASKINS, PIERRE BARNES.

